Charge-car.



J. E, GREENAWALT.

CHARGE GAR.

APPLIOATION FILED 0GT.16,1912.

Patented" July 21, 191%.

4 SHEETSSHEET l.

[.VYENTOR. c/b/m [Graze/142M212- WITNESSES:

A TTOIINE Y.

J. E. GREBNAWALT CHARGE GAR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT.16, 1912.

1,1 04,49 1 a Patented July 21, 1914.

4 SHEETSLSHEET 3.

HAW

, A TTO RNE Y.

WMQM v I. E. GREBNAWALT. CHARGE GAR. APPLICATION IILED OUT. 16, 1912.

I Patented July 21, 1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

WITNESSES. v IN VENTOR.

ATTORNE Y.

tinrrnn s re-res rg rnnr oianrcn.

JOHN E. GREENAWALT, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

CHARGE-CAR.

Lil o-itaoi.

Application filed October 16, 1912.

To 1171 713710771 it may concern lie it known that I, JOHN E. GRnnNAwALT, citizen of the United States, residing at Denver. in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Charge-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in charge-cars; and it consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the specifi 'ation and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a series of two sintering pan taken on the line 1'1 of Fig. 2, showing the application of my charge-car thereto, the car being shown in cross-sec-' tion, parts in said figure being in ele ation; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a. vertical transverse section of the charge-car taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, a sectional View of one end of the sintering pan being likewise shown to illustrate the relative position of the two when the car is in service; Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the charge-car with the gates or doors swung to closed and locked position, a part of the car being broken away; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the zigzag line 55 of'Fig. 3 of the charge-car only; and Fig. (5 is a sectional view on the order of Fig. 3, showing however, the doors or gates swung open, and the material discharging into the sintering pan.

The present invention is directed to the charging of pans or pots or equivalent containcrs for treating or sintering ores by what is known as the intermittent system; that is to say, a system where a predetermined charge is sintered in a given pan, a

series of pans being usually employed to permit the charging of one pan while the material in the others is undergoing treatment. In such a system the method of treatment is to sinter the charge by a downward burning process, the pans orpots being provided with a perforated bottom to support the charge, the air or supporter of combustion being drafted through the charge and is perforated (or equivalent) support. not only that the material composing the charge shall be distributed uniformly in the Specification of Letters iatent.

In such a process it is imperative- Serial No. 726,188.

pan, but that when once distributed it shall be homogeneous throughout. In other words care must be exercised that the charge shall be of substantially uniform thickness, and uniform density such a condition being indispensable to the uniform and even penc- .tration or progression of the Zone of combustion from the top to the bottom of the charge. It is evident that if the charge be packed or dense at one point and loose at another, the resistance to the passage of the air (which supports the combustion of the fuel contents of the charge) will not be uniform, the loose portions offering the least resistance to such passage and being sintered first, the denser portions retarding such pas sage and hence destroying the uniform porgression of the zone of combustion. In the loose portions the fuel contents will be the first to be consumed, and hence these portions will be sintered first. The porosity of these sintered portions will thus permit the drafted air to percolate or flow with little obstruction toward the exhauster, the air taking the paths of least resistance, thus leaving the denser portions of the charge and those less permeable to the air, practieally unsintered. In other words the leaks through the loose sintered spots destroy the suction intended for the denser spots and thereby interfere with the successful roasting or sintering action of the unsintered portions of the charge. In the ordinary charge-car the entire charge is dumped at one place, and in dumping, the weight and momentum of the upper portions of the charge pack and compress the lower portions at the place of dumping, so that even after the charge has been leveled off it is found that it is much denser at the places where the ehargewas dumped than elsewhere. lnthe system referred to the pans have an area of from eighty to ninety square feet, so it is evident that to level olf a charge of such extended area by hand be comes a very difficult and tedious matter; and unless the charge is accurately and uni formly' leveled, the resistance to the flow of air through the charge will vary considerably, being greatest where the charge is densest.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the ideal conditions for obtaining the best results are to deposit the charge into the pot or receptacle in such a way as to main tain not only a uniform thickness in the Patented JulyZIl, 1191a.

charge throughout, but at the same time-to preserve absolute homogeneity in the material so as to preserve a uniform density and porosity throughout the mass. Under such conditions when the entire surface of the charge is simultaneously ignited, the zoneof combustion will progress through the massuniformly' and thereby result in a uniform, homogenous, sintered product. It is the object of my invention to bring about these ideal conditions in the matter of de positing the charge in the treatment receptaele,.thedescription of the details of the invention being as follows Referringto the drawings, 1 represents a pan or treatment receptacle which in practice may be of any convenient size, the

dimensions of that here shown being about twelve feet in length, seven feet wide, and two feet deep. The pan is provided with grates G collectively forming a perforated bottom or support for the charge of material. m deposited thereon as well understood in the art. The pan or receptacle is provided with hollow trunnions 2 disposed below the grates and the charge supported thereon, and in free communication with the and out through the hollow trunnions 2,

I boxes 4:, pipes5, into and out of the exhauster. The pan is freely rotatable about the common axis of thetrunnions (being the longitudinal axis of the pan) and when the charge thereon has been sintered, the

pan is rotated (by hand or otherwise) about said axis suflicientlyto dump the charge ontoa chute or grizzly 6 whence it is discharged into a car T.

' Disposed adjacent the sides of the pan are rails R for thes'upportof the wheels 7 at the ends of the stationary axles 8 from which the igniting hood H is suspended.

The hood may be moved along the rails R over any pan and lowered to engage with the walls thereof thereby forming above the charge an ignition chamber C towhich the necessary fuel (gas or liquid hydrocarbon spray) is admitted for igniting the surface 1 oftheeharge. The charge once ignited, the

, hood may be moved to the next pan, the exhaustermaintaining the combustion of the charge" previously ignited by drawing the air downward through the charge 'and its support. I

The foregoing represents the general character of treatment vessel in conjunction prevent loss of same.

with which my present invention is employed, and is here described in a general an example, I will now describe the chargecar and the manner of its cooperation with the particular pan or pans here selected by way of e mple :Disposed above the series of pans and in parallelism with the rails R, are pairs of rails 9, 9, forming a guide-way or track for the travel of the wheels 10 of the charge-car or holder 11 rigidly depending fromthe truck-frame 12 carrying the wheels. The track thus formed (by the rails 9, 9) prevents both vertical and lateral displacement of the charge-car and the latter runs true and is maintained in perfect alinement with the pan over which it is advanced. The car is moved back and forth on its rails by means of anendless cable 0 secured to the bar (I of the truckframe,'and'guided' over sheaves or rollers 'r' and winding and unwinding over a drum (not shown) operated by an electric mo tor (not shown), there being no novelty in this, such features being common in hoisting apparatus. The charge-car is preferably of the form as shown, that is to say with ver tical side walls and downwardly converging front and rear walls, the side walls terminating in bottom extensions or wings 10'" which project forward or in the direction the car is advanced while discharging. Mounted in bearings 13 at the base of the front wall of the car is a shaft 14 to which is secured the main or charge-supporting door or gate 15 operating freely between the sidewalls of the ear. To the outer pIOjGOting terminals of the shaft 14 and swinging in planes beyond the side walls of the car, and projecting in a direction opposite from the gate 15 are weighted balance levers or members 16 by means of which the gate may be readily manipulated for purposes of regulating the rate and volume of discharge.

Mounted at the base of the rear wall in brackets 01' bearings 13' secured to the bottoms of the side walls is a shaft *17 which carries the lockinggate 18, the latter sup porting the gate 15 when the gates are closed. From the center of the shaft 17 and projecting in a direction opposite from the gate 18 1s an armor balancing lever 19 which is provided with a detachable pin or keeper 20 preferably secured to a chain 21 to The arm 19 is held in its depressed position (and the gate 18 closed) by a latch arm 22 pivoted at its upper end between a pair of ears or lugs e, e,

on the plate 23 secured to the rear wall ofis released, leaving the gates free to open. The locking gate 18 is so weighted that when released it will drop until arrested by the arm 19 strikingthebumpers 24 (which may be adjusted by screwing or unscrewing the same within their sockets 25 as shown, or by any other means suggesting themselves to the skilled mechanic), the opening of the gate which is in the path of discharge of the material being however assured by the pressure of the charge in the car. The edge of the gate 18 serves as a leveler for the charge deposited in the pan, the bumpers 24 being so adjusted as to arrest the arm 19 (and hence the gate) when the edge of the gate is levelwith the top of the sintering pan across which the charge-car is moving (Fig. 6). The fixed sides or wings in ofthe car extend down to within one'inch (if the top of the pan, this insuring sufficient clearance to enable the car to be moved back and forth over the remaining pans without danger of interference or fouling.

The operation may be described briefly as follows :The material composing the charge is comparatively fine and in order-to prevent these fines from being drawn through the grates or equivalent perforated supporting bottom, a thin layer (from one quarter to one inch in thickness) of coarse material 711/ reasonably free from combustible matter is first spread over the grates such a layer being susceptible of ready removal from the grates after the charge is sintered.

40 ,The available depth of the pan or receptacle 1 is that between the top surface of the grates andthe upper edgesof the pan, this being about twelve inches so that the ma-.

terial discharged from the car into the pan has a comparatively short drop, it being remembered that the bottoms of the sides of the car are only about one inch above the.

-edges of the pan. A car will hold one venient way known to the art. To charge charge, that is to say, enough to make a bed.

about a foot thick and of an area equalto the area of the pan (eighty-four square feet). The manner of filling the car is immaterial as that may be done in any con- &

wardly or in a direction opposite to that in which the car is moved across the pan in the charging operation. This rearward flow of the material insures the filling of the cor- 11ers of the pan at the end at which the charging of the pan begins, the material flowing into said corners as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. Once the charging of'thc pan is begun, the car is moved across the pan, the operator so controlling the gate 15 as to permit the discharge of the material from the car to be strictly commensurate with the rate of speed of the car over the pan. Since the more or less moist material practically-rolls from the car and its maximum drop is restricted to about a foot 'in reaching the bottom of the pan (by bottom. is here meant the grate surface on which the material is deposited), it follows that a substantially gentle deposit ot- -the material results as compared with a precipitation in cases where the material is boiily dumped into the pan. The gentlenes of the deposit is further insured by the rearward discharge of the material from the car (that is, a discharge in a direction opposed to the direction of traverse of the car across the pan while discharging) the car receding as it were from the material while the latter is discharging. This prevents packing of the fines and insures uniform porosity for the mass during the sintering operation. As the car moves across the pan, the leveling edge of the locking door 18 levels the charge, making an. even surface, the bumpers 24 being adjusted to bring this edge'into the plane of the upper edges of the an. It. will be observed that the bottom of the car opens in such a way as to prac: tically form a chamber closed on three sides, namely the door 15 and the side wings in, w, the door directing the material rearwardly into the receptacle and depositing the same practically level. The balancing levers 16 are important as by means of them thegate 15 is kept under perfect control. The adjustment of the leveling edge of the gate 18 is also important; if this edge were fixed it would be bumping against and scraping the tops of other pans and charges and would interfere with the free operation of the car back and forth.

--It will be seen that during the pan-filling operation, that is, during the discharging of the contents of the ear, the latter is moved forward across or over the several pans of the series, a single charge filling a pan, the

car being empty by the time it reaches the end of the pan opposite from that at which the filling operation began. As the car moves across the pan the deposited material is accuratelv leveled off by the edgeof the gate 18 as described, and the charge is in an ideal condition for treatment. The car is then returned or moved back to the source the car is ready to receive the next charge.

. The filled car is then moved forward to the lated by a careful adjustment of the bumpers next pan of the series, the locking gate is released and this pan filled in the same manner. When the gates are closed the car is free to move across all the pans owing to the-one inchclearance between the tops of the pans and the wings w, w, of the car. This clearance is fixed, and is sufiicient to permit the car to pass over the several pans without fouling or scraping, and is to be distinguished from the variable clearance between the tops of the pans and the edge of the leveling gate 18 which can be regu- 2-1 by which the gate is arrested.

Owing to the low (12 inch) drop of the material from the car to the depositing surface formed by the grates G, the material does not break as a result of precipitation, but on the contrary flows as a continuous and integral stream out of the car, depositing uniformly over the grates with the progressive advance or traverse of the can across the pan.

It is this integrity in the flowing or rolling stream of material which contributes to preserve the homogeneity, there being an entire absence of packing owing to this reduced drop and to the further fact that the car moves in one direction While it isdischarging in the opposite direction.

' hinged opposite the first gate and holding Features shown but not alluded to are either well known or form subjectanatter' foreign to the present application, and

hence not here described.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a traveling charge-car, a holder having inclosing walls and open at the bottom, a movable gate disposed across said open bottom for supporting the charge in the holder, a movable member on the holder adapted to release thegate from its charge-- ating to be swung across the open bottom for supporting the charge, a locking-gate the latter in its charge-supportingposition, the edge of the locking-gate being adapted to be depressed below the bottom edge of the holder when swung in proper direction to release the first gate.

3. In combination with a receptacle having a depositing surface for the support of a charge, a charge-car movable across'the receptacle, a gate for'supporting the charge in with the gate and permitting a release thereof for purposes of discharging the contents of the car, said member serving as a leveler for the material deposited in the receptacle upon its'discharge from the car. a

4. In a charge-car, a holder for the charge, a pair of doors coiiperatively supporting the charge in the holder for a closed position of the doors, and releasing the charge with an opening of the dodrs, and means on one. of thedoors for leveling the discharged contents by a movement of the car in a given direction; l

5. In a charge-car, a holder for the charge, a pair of doors cooperatively supporting the charge in the holder for a closed position of the doors and releasing thecharge with an opening of the doors, means on one of the doors serving as a leveler for the discharged contents during the movement of the car thereover, and balancing members on the opposite door for actuating said door and regulating the flow of the discharging contents. I

6. In a chargecar, a suitable holder for the charge, a pair of bottom doors or gates hinged to the holder and overlapping one another for a closed position of the doors, means for effecting a release of'one of the doors from its closed position and thereby releasing the opposite door, and means on the door first released for leveling thedischarged contents by a movement of the car closed position and thereby releasing the opposite gate, and means on the first gate for leveling the discharged contents by a movement of the car thereover in a given direction.

8. In combination with a receptacle having a depositing surface for the support of a charge, a charge-car movable across the receptacle, gates on the bottom of the car for releasing the material into the receptacle and discharging the same over the deposit ing surface ina direction oppositeto the travel of the car, and meanson one of the gates for leveling the deposited material duringthe movement receptacle.

of'the car aorossthe 91A charge-car comprising a suitable open-bottomed holder, a gate hinged to the Weill of the holder and extending across the opening of the bottom, a locking gate hinged opposite the first gate and engaging the latter along the bottom for a closed position of the gates, means on the outside of the holder 'for holding the second-gate in its locking position, and suitable controlling levers-on the first gate. 3

10. A charge-car comprising a suitable open-bottomed holder having a pair of hinged gates in interlocked relation fora closed position of the gates, means for re-.

leasing the gates, and means on the holder for arresting the movement of one of the gates at a predetermined point of the opening swing of said gate.

11. A charge-car comprising a holder having opposing parallel walls and contiguous" downwardly converging walls and provided with an open bottom, extensions leading from the parallel walls beyond the bases of the converging Walls, a gate hinged at the base of one of the converging walls and adapted to close the bottom of the holder, balancing members leading from the hingeaxis of the gate, a second gate hinged at the base of the opposite converging wall and supporting the first gate for a closed position of the gates, a member leading fromthe hinge axis of the second gate, and formations on the wall of the holder for arresting said member and thus limiting the outward swing-of the second gate. I

12. A charge-car provided With side, front, and rear walls,and open at the bottom, and

an oscillatable discharge-controlling member on the car projecting below the bottom of the car and serving as a leveler.

13. A charge'car comprising a holder open at the bottom and provided with front and rear walls, and side walls extending below F551 ear the said front and rear walls, a gate hinged at the base of the frontwall operating between .the extensions, and closing across the open bottom of the car, balancing levers coupled to the hinge axis of the gate at points beyond the side walls, a locking gate hinged at the base of the rear wall and en gaging the bottom of the firstgate fora closed position of the'gates, a balance arm for the locking gate oscillating opposite the rear wall of the holder, a hinged latch coupled to the rear wall, a movable keeper on the material over the ends of the gate during such discharge, andmeans for moving the car in a direction opposite to the general direction of flow of the discharging material.

, In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. GREENAVALT.

f W'itnesses:

'Gnonon F. PICKEN,

BERTHA BERGER. 

